My name is Arslan Berdimuradov and I was born in the beautiful city of Mary, located in south- eastern Turkmenistan. My parents are both doctors and pretty good ones actually. That’s probably why I have been in the hospital only once – the time when I was born ;) We are four kids in the family. I have an elder brother and sister and a younger brother. People always ask me if my name has to do anything with ‘Aslan’ from the Chronicles of Narnia, and I love saying ‘Yes’. As in the movie, Arslan means ‘Lion’ in Turkmen, my native language.

My family and I lived the first 12 years of my life with my grandparents before moving into our own house. The reason for this is our tradition: every married couple stays in the husband’s house until his younger brother gets married off.My

father has 3 sisters before his younger brother and so, all my childhood years were spe nt at my grandparents’ place and I really enjoyed those years. Sometimes, I wish I was a kid again. I was sent to kindergarten when I was almost 2 years old because apparently I drove my parents crazy and they wanted to have some peace of mind for at least a couple of hours every day.

When I was 7 years old, I went to a public school in my neighborhood. After 5th grade, I got accepted into a Turkmen-Turkish Private boarding school and unfortunately, it was an all-boys school ;). It was very tough at the beginning living without my parents, but gradually I got used to it. After my 1st year of studies at this private school, I got noticed for my math skills. So, after dozens of exams, I was chosen and sent to private high school in our capital city, Ashgabat. My life continued there for two years more. Soon, I began preparing for the International Math Olympiad, and studied day and night. That’s the reason I cannot study anymore. I think I overdosed myself during my last 2 years of high school, so now I watch movies instead of studying. However, all those sleepless nights paid off and I got 1st place in Turkmenistan National Math Olympiads and a bronze medal in the International Math Olympiad( IMO 2003) held in Tokyo, Japan.

I went through a dramatic change in a matter of a couple years. I used to be extremely shy, naïve, very religious, with no experience of life. So I guess I’ve changed both for the good and worse. But one thing’s for sure, I will never forget those days and one day I would like to go back and visit my friends, but definitely not live there.

After 2 years of study, dealing with annoying customers at a gas station every day, I began looking for something new. Then accidentally, one of my friends told me that there is good university in Germany which did not require any German knowledge. I immediately began researching about the university, and found it very appealing because Rice University (Harvard of the South) was one of the founders and I was living right next to it. I applied here and within a couple of months received an acceptance letter. I was extremely elated that I’d be studying in Germany and that I would not have to deal with annoying clients again ;) Thus, after completing my Associate degree of Arts at the University of Houston and Houston Community College, I flew to Chicago to see my friends, and soon to Bremen.

At first it felt really weird when I landed in Bremen. I did not know anyone in the country and felt very lonely, but fortunately that did not last long. Soon, I got to know more people, began enjoying our international community with students from many different countries and cultures, and settled in. There were students from countries I hadn’t ever met before, and for many students I was the first Turkmen they were meeting. As a matter of fact, some students did not even know that Turkmenistan exists, but I hear that a lot, so I’m used to it.

For the first time in my life, I felt like a student. Studying, eating and chatting together with your friends is the best thing and I would not exchange it for anything else. At Jacobs University, my communication and problem solving skills, my decision making ability and leadership skills drastically improved along with many other skills. I even improved my acting skills (It was my first acting experience. I acted as a singer and was apparently successful.

Most importantly, Mercator College became my home; my family. I never expected that living on campus would feel like living at home. Waking up early morning to find Christmas presents at your doorstep happens only at home and in this case, Mercator College. All activities and events organized by the Mercator College Office team and Masters make us feel extremely happy and bring a family-like atmosphere to our lovely college. My friends even tried to convince me moving out of Mercator College, but I think they knew that they will not ever succeed. I wish I could stay here for longer, at Jacobs University, and especially in Mercator College. But unfortunately it is time for me to move on. (Otherwise I will be the oldest student in Mercator. But I am going to miss this place a lot, and hopefully will all be around to keep the Mercator College lively!

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